I 



CONQUESTS OF THE SARACENS. 327 



Saracen army. The citizens maintained an obsti- 

 nate siege of four months, — not a single day of 

 which passed without fighting. The patriarch So- 

 phronius imprecated from the walls the Divine dis- 

 pleasure on the disturbers of the Holy City. The 

 warlike machines showered their missiles inces- 

 santly from the ramparts ; while the difficidties of 

 the "besiegers were increased, and their ranlis 

 thinned by the inclemency of winter. 



The perseverance of the enemy at length induced 

 Sophronius to demand a conference, in the hope of 

 obtaining the terms of an honourable capitulation. 

 Obeidah was v-qually ready to treat ; and the inhab- 

 itants consented to surrender on the singular condi- 

 tion of receiving the articles of their security and 

 protection from the hands of the caliph, and not by 

 proxy. This strange proposition was communicated 

 to Omar; and after some discussion, he resolved 

 immediately to visit the ancient capital of Palestine. 

 The rude simplicity of his equipage and manners is 

 minutely described by the Moslem Avriters, and pre- 

 sents a "striking contrast to the gaudy pageantries 

 that usually surround the haughty monarchs of the 

 East. On this occasion the emperor of the faith- 

 ful, the conqueror of Syria, Persia, and Egj^jt, 

 courted no distinction beyond the meanest of his 

 subjects. His dress was a coarse woollen garment, 

 with a scimitar hung from one shoulder, and a bow 

 on the other. He rode a red camel, carrying with 

 him a couple of sacks, one filled with fruits, the 

 other with sodden barley in the husk, — a sort of pro- 

 vision called sawik, and in general use among the 

 Arabs. Before him he had a leathern bottle of wa- 

 ter, and behind him was suspended a large wooden 

 platter. When he halted on the way, the company 

 was uniformly invited to partake of his homely fare ; 

 and the humblest of his retinue dipped their fingers 

 in the same dish with the mighty successor of the 

 Prophet. The spot where he reposed for the night 



